The Sui Dynasty (/swiː/;[3] Chinese: 隋朝; pinyin: Suí cháo) was
a short-lived imperial dynasty of
ChinaChina of pivotal significance. The
Sui unified the
Northern and Southern dynastiesNorthern and Southern dynasties and reinstalled the
rule of ethnic
Han ChineseHan Chinese in the entirety of
ChinaChina proper, along with
sinicization of former nomadic ethnic minorities (the Five Barbarians)
within its territory. It was succeeded by the Tang dynasty, which
largely inherited its foundation.
Founded by Emperor Wen of Sui, the
Sui dynastySui dynasty capital was Chang'an
(which was renamed Daxing, 581–605) and later
LuoyangLuoyang (605–618).
Emperors Wen and Yang undertook various centralized reforms, most
notably the equal-field system, intended to reduce economic inequality
and improve agricultural productivity; the institution of the Three
Departments and Six Ministries system; and the standardization and
re-unification of the coinage. They also spread and encouraged
BuddhismBuddhism throughout the empire. By the middle of the dynasty, the
newly unified empire entered a golden age of prosperity with vast
agricultural surplus that supported rapid population growth.
A lasting legacy of the
Sui dynastySui dynasty was the Grand Canal.[4] With the
eastern capital
LuoyangLuoyang at the center of the network, it linked the
west-lying capital
Chang'anChang'an to the economic and agricultural centers
of the east towards Hangzhou, and to the northern border near modern
Beijing. While the pressing initial motives were for shipment of
grains to the capital, and for transporting troops and military
logistics, the reliable inland shipment links would facilitate
domestic trades, flow of people and cultural exchange for centuries,
Along with the extension of the Great Wall, and the construction of
the eastern capital city of Luoyang, these mega projects, led by an
efficient centralized bureaucracy, would amass millions of conscripted
workers from the large population base, at heavy cost of human lives.
After a series of costly and disastrous military campaigns against
Goguryeo, one of the
Three KingdomsThree Kingdoms of Korea,[5][6][7] ended in defeat
by 614, the dynasty disintegrated under a series of popular revolts
culminating in the assassination of Emperor Yang by his ministers in
618. The dynasty, which lasted only thirty-seven years, was undermined
by ambitious wars and construction projects, which overstretched its
resources. Particularly, under Emperor Yang, heavy taxation and
compulsory labor duties would eventually induce widespread revolts and
brief civil war following the fall of the dynasty.
The dynasty is often compared to the earlier
Qin dynastyQin dynasty for unifying
ChinaChina after prolonged division. Wide-ranging reforms and construction
projects were undertaken to consolidate the newly unified state, with
long-lasting influences beyond their short dynastic reigns.

Contents

1 History

1.1 Emperor Wen and the founding of Sui
1.2 Emperor Yang and the reconquest of Vietnam
1.3 Goguryeo-Sui wars
1.4 Fall of the Sui Dynasty

2 Culture

2.1 Buddhism
2.2 Poetry

3 Rulers
4 Family tree of the Sui emperors
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

History[edit]
Emperor Wen and the founding of Sui[edit]
Towards the late Northern and Southern dynasties, the Northern Zhou
conquered the
Northern QiNorthern Qi in 577 and reunified northern China, The
century trend of gradual conquest of the southern dynasties of the Han
Chinese by the northern dynasties, which were ruled by ethnic minority
Xianbei, would become inevitable. By this time, the later founder of
the Sui dynasty, Yang Jian, an ethnic Han Chinese, became the regent
to the
Northern ZhouNorthern Zhou court. His daughter was the Empress Dowager, and
her stepson, Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou, was a child. After
crushing an army in the eastern provinces, Yang Jian usurped the
throne to become Emperor Wen of Sui. While formerly the Duke of
Sui（隨）when serving at the Zhou court, where the character
"Sui（隨）" literally means "to follow" and implies loyalty,
Emperor Wen created the unique character "Sui（隋）", morphed from
the character of his former title, as the name of his newly founded
dynasty. In a bloody purge, he had fifty-nine princes of the Zhou
royal family eliminated, yet nevertheless became known as the
"Cultured Emperor".[8] Emperor Wen abolished the anti-Han policies of
Zhou and reclaimed his Han surname of Yang. Having won the support of
Confucian scholars who held power in previous Han dynasties
(abandoning the nepotism and corruption of the nine-rank system),
Emperor Wen initiated a series of reforms aimed at strengthening his
empire for the wars that would reunify China.
In his campaign for southern conquest, Emperor Wen assembled thousands
of boats to confront the naval forces of the
Chen dynastyChen dynasty on the
Yangtze River. The largest of these ships were very tall, having five
layered decks and the capacity for 800 non-crew personnel. They were
outfitted with six 50-foot-long booms that were used to swing and
damage enemy ships, or to pin them down so that Sui marine troops
could use act-and-board techniques.[8]:89 Besides employing Xianbei
and other Chinese ethnic groups for the fight against Chen, Emperor
Wen also employed the service of people from southeastern Sichuan,
which Sui had recently conquered.[8]:89
In 588, the Sui had amassed 518,000 troops along the northern bank of
the Yangtze River, stretching from
SichuanSichuan to the East
ChinaChina Sea.[9]
The
Chen dynastyChen dynasty could not withstand such an assault. By 589, Sui
troops entered Jiankang (Nanjing) and the last emperor of Chen
surrendered. The city was razed to the ground, while Sui troops
escorted Chen nobles back north, where the northern aristocrats became
fascinated with everything the south had to provide culturally and
intellectually.
Although Emperor Wen was famous for bankrupting the state treasury
with warfare and construction projects, he made many improvements to
infrastructure during his early reign. He established granaries as
sources of food and as a means to regulate market prices from the
taxation of crops, much like the earlier Han dynasty. The large
agricultural surplus supported rapid growth of population to a
historical peak, which was only surpassed at the zenith of the Tang
Dynasty more than a century later.
The state capital of
Chang'anChang'an (Daxing), while situated in the
militarily secure heartland of Guanzhong, was remote from the economic
centers to the east and south of the empire. Emperor Wen initiated the
construction of the Grand Canal, with completion of the first (and the
shortest) route that directly linked
Chang'anChang'an to the Yellow River
(Huang He). Later, Emperor Yang enormously enlarged the scale of the
Grand Canal construction.

Externally, the emerging nomadic Turkic (Tujue) Khaganate in the north
posed a major threat to the newly founded dynasty. With Emperor Wen's
diplomatic maneuver, the Khaganate split into Eastern and Western
halves. Later the Great Wall was consolidated to further secure the
northern territory. In Emperor Wen's late years, the first war with
GoguryeoGoguryeo (Korea), ended with defeat. Nevertheless, the celebrated
"[Reign of Kaihuang" (era name of Emperor Wen)" was considered by
historians as one of the apexes in the two millennium imperial period
of Chinese history.
The Sui Emperors were from the northwest military aristocracy, and
emphasized that their patrilineal ancestry was ethnic Han, claiming
descent from the Han official Yang Zhen.[10] The New Book of Tang
traced his patrilineal ancestry to the
Zhou dynastyZhou dynasty kings via the
Dukes of Jin.[11]
The Yang of Hongnong 弘農楊氏[12][13][14][15][16][excessive
citations] were asserted as ancestors by the Sui Emperors, much as the
Longxi Li's were asserted as ancestors of the Tang Emperors.[17] The
Li of Zhaojun and the Lu of Fanyang hailed from Shandong and were
related to the Liu clan which was also linked to the Yang of Hongnong
and other clans of Guanlong.[18] The Dukes of Jin were claimed as the
ancestors of the Hongnong Yang.[19]

The Yang of Hongnong, Jia of Hedong, Xiang of Henei, and Wang of
Taiyuan from the
Tang dynastyTang dynasty were claimed as ancestors by Song
dynasty lineages.[20]
Information about these major political events in
ChinaChina were somehow
filtered west and reached the Byzantine Empire, the continuation of
the
Roman EmpireRoman Empire in the east. From Turkic peoples of Central Asia the
Eastern Romans derived a new name for
ChinaChina after the older
SinaeSinae and
Serica: Taugast (Old Turkic: Tabghach), during its Northern Wei
(386–535) period.[21] The 7th-century Byzantine historian
Theophylact SimocattaTheophylact Simocatta wrote a generally accurate depiction of the
reunification of
ChinaChina by
Emperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of Sui Dynasty, with the
conquest of the rival Chen Dynasty in southern China. Simocatta
correctly placed these events within the reign period of Byzantine
ruler Maurice.[22] Simocatta also provided cursory information about
the geography of China, its division by the
Yangzi RiverYangzi River and its
capital Khubdan (from Old Turkic Khumdan, i.e. Chang'an) along with
its customs and culture, deeming its people "idolatrous" but wise in
governance.[22] He noted that the ruler was named "Taisson", which he
claimed meant "Son of God", perhaps Chinese Tianzi (Son of Heaven) or
even the name of the contemporary ruler Emperor Taizong of Tang.[23]
Emperor Yang and the reconquest of Vietnam[edit]
Main article: Emperor Yang of Sui
Further information: Third Chinese domination of Vietnam

Emperor Yang of SuiEmperor Yang of Sui (569–618) ascended the throne after his father's
death, possibly by murder. He further extended the empire, but unlike
his father, did not seek to gain support from the nomads. Instead, he
restored Confucian education and the Confucian examination system for
bureaucrats. By supporting educational reforms, he lost the support of
the nomads. He also started many expensive construction projects such
as the Grand Canal of China, and became embroiled in several costly
wars. Between these policies, invasions into
ChinaChina from Turkic nomads,
and his growing life of decadent luxury at the expense of the
peasantry, he lost public support and was eventually assassinated by
his own ministers.
Both Emperors Yang and Wen sent military expeditions into
VietnamVietnam as
Annam in northern
VietnamVietnam had been incorporated into the Chinese
empire over 600 years earlier during the
Han dynastyHan dynasty (202 BC – 220
AD). However the Kingdom of
ChampaChampa in central
VietnamVietnam became a major
counterpart to Chinese invasions to its north. According to Ebrey,
Walthall, and Palais, these invasions became known as the Linyi-Champa
Campaign (602–605).[8]
The
HanoiHanoi area formerly held by the Han and Jin dynasties was easily
recovered from the local ruler in 602. A few years later the Sui army
pushed farther south and was attacked by troops on war elephants from
ChampaChampa in southern Vietnam. The Sui army feigned retreat and dug pits
to trap the elephants, lured the Champan troops to attack then used
crossbows against the elephants causing them to turn around and
trample their own soldiers. Although Sui troops were victorious many
succumbed to disease as northern soldiers did not have immunity to
tropical diseases such as malaria.[8]:90
Goguryeo-Sui wars[edit]
Main article: Goguryeo-Sui Wars
The
Sui dynastySui dynasty led a series of massive expeditions to invade
Goguryeo, one of the
Three KingdomsThree Kingdoms of Korea. Emperor Yang conscripted
many soldiers for the campaign. This army was so enormous it recorded
in historical texts that it took 30 days for all the armies to exit
their last rallying point near Shanhaiguan before invading Goguryeo.
In one instance the soldiers—both conscripted and paid—listed over
3000 warships, up to 1.15 million infantry, 50,000 cavalry, 5000
artillery, and more. The army stretched to 1000 li or about
410 km (250 mi) across rivers and valleys, over mountains
and hills. Each of the four military expeditions ended in failure,
incurring a substantial financial and manpower deficit from which the
Sui would never recover.
Fall of the Sui Dynasty[edit]

Chinese swords of the Sui dynasty, about 600, found near Luoyang. The
P-shaped furniture of the bottom sword's scabbard is similar to and
may have been derived from sword scabbards of the
SarmatiansSarmatians and
Sassanians.[24]

Strolling About in Spring, by Zhan Ziqian, Sui era artist

One of the major work projects undertaken by the Sui was construction
activities along the Great Wall of China; but this, along with other
large projects, strained the economy and angered the resentful
workforce employed. During the last few years of the Sui dynasty, the
rebellion that rose against it took many of China's able-bodied men
from rural farms and other occupations, which in turn damaged the
agricultural base and the economy further.[25] Men would deliberately
break their limbs in order to avoid military conscription, calling the
practice "propitious paws" and "fortunate feet."[25] Later, after the
fall of Sui, in the year 642,
Emperor Taizong of TangEmperor Taizong of Tang made an effort
to eradicate this practice by issuing a decree of a stiffer punishment
for those who were found to deliberately injure and heal
themselves.[25]
Although the
Sui dynastySui dynasty was relatively short (581–618), much was
accomplished during its tenure. The Grand Canal was one of the main
accomplishments. It was extended north from the
HangzhouHangzhou region across
the Yangzi to Yangzhou and then northwest to the region of Luoyang.
Again, like the Great Wall works, the massive conscription of labor
and allocation of resources for the Grand Canal project resulted in
challenges for Sui dynastic continuity. The eventual fall of the Sui
dynasty was also due to the many losses caused by the failed military
campaigns against Goguryeo. It was after these defeats and losses that
the country was left in ruins and rebels soon took control of the
government. Emperor Yang was assassinated in 618. He had gone South
after the capital being threatened by various rebel groups and was
killed by his advisors (Yuwen Clan). Meanwhile, in the North, the
aristocrat Li Yuan (李淵) held an uprising after which he ended up
ascending the throne to become Emperor Gaozu of Tang. This was the
start of the Tang dynasty, one of the most-noted dynasties in Chinese
history.
There were Dukedoms for the offspring of the royal families of the
Zhou dynasty, Sui dynasty, and
Tang dynastyTang dynasty in the Later Jin (Five
Dynasties).[26] This practice was referred to as 二王三恪.
Culture[edit]

Although the
Sui dynastySui dynasty was relatively short-lived, in terms of
culture, it represents a transition from the preceding ages, and many
cultural developments which can be seen to be incipient during the Sui
dynasty later were expanded and consolidated during the ensuing Tang
dynasty, and later ages. This includes not only the major public works
initiated, such as the Great Wall and the Great Canal, but also the
political system developed by Sui, which was adopted by Tang with
little initial change other than at the top of the political
hierarchy. Other cultural developments of the
Sui dynastySui dynasty included
religion and literature, particular examples being
BuddhismBuddhism and
poetry.
Rituals and sacrifices were conducted by the Sui.[27]
Buddhism[edit]
BuddhismBuddhism was popular during the
Sixteen KingdomsSixteen Kingdoms and Northern and
Southern dynasties period that preceded the Sui dynasty, spreading
from
IndiaIndia through
KushanKushan Afghanistan into
ChinaChina during the Late Han
period.
BuddhismBuddhism gained prominence during the period when central
political control was limited.
BuddhismBuddhism created a unifying cultural
force that uplifted the people out of war and into the Sui dynasty. In
many ways,
BuddhismBuddhism was responsible for the rebirth of culture in
ChinaChina under the Sui dynasty.
While early Buddhist teachings were acquired from
SanskritSanskrit sutras from
India, it was during the late Six dynasties and
Sui dynastySui dynasty that local
Chinese schools of Buddhist thoughts started to flourish. Most
notably,
ZhiyiZhiyi founded the
TiantaiTiantai school and completed the Great
treatise on Concentration and Insight, within which he taught the
principle of "Three Thousand Realms in a Single moment of Life" as the
essence of Buddhist teaching outlined in the Lotus Sutra.
Emperor Wen and his empress had converted to
BuddhismBuddhism to legitimize
imperial authority over
ChinaChina and the conquest of Chen. The emperor
presented himself as a
CakravartinCakravartin king, a Buddhist monarch who would
use military force to defend the Buddhist faith. In the year 601 AD,
Emperor Wen had relics of the Buddha distributed to temples throughout
China, with edicts that expressed his goals, "all the people within
the
Four SeasFour Seas may, without exception, develop enlightenment and
together cultivate fortunate karma, bringing it to pass that present
existences will lead to happy future lives, that the sustained
creation of good causation will carry us one and all up to wondrous
enlightenment".[8]:89 Ultimately, this act was an imitation of the
ancient
MauryanMauryan Emperor
AshokaAshoka of India.[8]:89
Poetry[edit]
Further information:
Six Dynasties poetrySix Dynasties poetry and Tang poetry

Yang Guang depicted as Emperor of Sui

Although poetry continued to be written, and certain poets rose in
prominence while others disappeared from the landscape, the brief Sui
dynasty, in terms of the development of Chinese poetry, lacks
distinction, though it nonetheless represents a continuity between the
Six Dynasties and the poetry of Tang.[28]
Sui dynastySui dynasty poets include
Yang Guang (580–618), who was the last Sui emperor (and a sort of
poetry critic); and also, the Lady Hou, one of his consorts.
Rulers[edit]

Posthumous Name (
Shi Hao 諡號)
Convention: "Sui" + name
Birth Name
Period of Reign
Era Names (
Nian Hao 年號) and their according range of years